Disillusioned
by lightningstrxu
Summary: "It was supposed to be easy, everything was accounted for. 'Hi, I'm Jaune, nice to meet you, partner.' Okay, so there were some things unaccounted for. I can handle this; it's all part of the plan." Cover by MRK50
1. When A Plan Fails

**Disillusioned**

By Lightningstrxu

Beta Aetheling

Chapter 1: When a Plan Fails

* * *

Today was the day!

Today was the day that Jaune Arc would take his first steps towards becoming the hero he always wanted to be. It had taken a lot of work, but here he was ready to start his days at Haven Academy.

"Ugh…" he groaned.

That was, if the airship ride didn't kill him first. He was currently strapped tightly to a chair to the point that he could barely move, along with several dozen Haven hopefuls awaiting their chance to pass initiation: That was perhaps the most significant roadblock in front of him. Hundreds applied to Haven every year, but in the end, they took only a small fraction on as students.. If he passed this, he would be a student of Haven at least. He could fake it after that, just say he was a poor study and take remedial courses.

Yeah, that was a plan.

Looking around, he took in the people who were to be his friends for the next few years. A blue-haired boy was casually attempting to hit on a dark-skinned green haired girl, who rolled her eyes in annoyance. Further down the line, he saw a blonde in martial arts attire casually chatting with a red-haired…pirate?

His potential classmates were undoubtedly a colorful bunch, Jaune mused, as he closed his eyes and attempted to will his heaving stomach to settle. It would be over soon; it couldn't be too much longer to their destination, right?

A rather high pitched nasally, voice caught his attention: "Ladies and gentleman, may I have your attention." Turning his head, Jaune saw a screen being lowered from the airships ceiling, on which stood a wizened old man of diminutive stature, standing on a chair to stay in frame for the camera.

"My name is Rupert Stiltskin, Deputy Headmaster of Haven Academy and overseer of its initiation exam." The pint-sized professor coughed, clearing his throat.

"I doubt that shrimp can see over anything." A random silver-haired initiate said under his breath.

"I heard that, young man!" The professor snapped. Causing the cocky teen to start. Apparently, this was a two-way call. "Anyway, shortly you will be airdropped into the initiation area…"

"Airdropped!?" Jaune said stunned. "Isn't that a little dangerous?"

The professor rubbed the bridge of his nose obviously frustrated.

"Yes, and fighting Grimm isn't?" Stiltskin said, clearly annoyed. "Don't worry, and parachutes will be provided to those who need them. Keep in mind that they will drastically slow your descent, giving you a disadvantage concerning time. May I continue now?"

"Yes, sir." Jaune nodded anxiously.

"Good." The professor nodded in return. "As I was saying: you will be airdropped into the testing area, your job once there will be to retrieve one, and only one coin!" he held up a single finger for emphasis. "Of the many coins hidden around the testing area, and bring them back to the retrieval point on your map. Anybody caught hoarding more than one coin will be immediately disqualified. There are already fewer coins than initiates; I will not have anyone denying students for the sake of competition. There are forty coins in total, so good luck."

"Forty…" Jaune whispered. There were about thirty initiates on this airship alone, not to mention the five other airships he saw. "A hundred and eighty applicants and only forty slots."

"I'd like to add a few more words of advice." Stiltskin spoke up again, interrupting Jaune's musings. "There are creatures of Grimm down there; it is not a requirement to fight them, but chances are you'll have no choice. Also, while an initiate cannot hold more than two coins, there are no rules against an initiate without a coin taking one from an initiate that does. So, defend your coin with your life, if you must! One last thing, should you find yourself in an emergency you may activate the distress mode on your scrolls, and you will be evacuated. However, this will result in immediate failure of initiation. That is all: brace yourself, kids."

The screen went black, and a loud whirring noise could be heard. Jaune turned to the front of the airship in time to see one of the initiates dropped through a panel that opened beneath them. Thirty seconds later, the initiate opposite him also fell. Jaune's eyes widened as the pattern continued until it got to him.

The floor fell out, releasing him into the open air, and the force of the expulsion caused him to lose the tenuous hold he had on his stomach.

He hoped that whoever might be below him would forgive the mess.

His first hurdle was about to begin.

 _#####_

With a loud crackling, Jaune's seat crashed into a thicket of trees, his chute becoming tangled in the gnarled branches. Jaune sat helplessly, swinging back and forth until his momentum gave; he was still a good thirty feet off the ground.

"Great, how do I get down from here?"

Jaune gazed at the ground below him and at his surroundings. They had been dropped into a highly mountainous region of Mistral, rocky and barren: he had been lucky enough to fall in one of the few scattered pockets of trees. Jaune undid his harness and managed to scramble onto the branch above. "Okay well, I'm out of the chair at least."

Clinging bodily to the branch, he inched himself along with it until he reached the main body of the tree. Nestled into the branches, he surveyed the trunk. The branches stopped about ten feet below him, which still left about a twenty-foot drop: not _too_ far, but enough that he didn't want to risk his only shot by breaking his legs.

Jaune sighed: all his efforts to make it here, dashed before he could barely get started. That was when a flash of gold caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. Turning to face it, he saw a small golden shrine complete with carved door wedged into one of the branches. Gripping the tree as tightly as he could, he slowly crawled towards it. Reaching out, he opened the door: nestled inside was a small gold coin.

Nervously, he reached out his hands shaking he picked it up and looked at it. The image of a tiger carved into the face of the coin.

"Yes!" Jaune shouted with glee. He couldn't believe his luck, of all the trees he could fall into, he managed to fall into the one tree that gave him a coin. Now all he had to do was get out of this tree and get out of here.

"Hey, whatcha find?" A voice called out from behind him.

"Ah!" Jaune started and, in his panic, rolled off the tree.

This was it; this was how he would die. Jaune Arc, aged seventeen: fell from a tree. He braced to hit the ground but felt several pairs of hands deftly nab him. Opening his eyes, he saw he was being held by three glowing golden figures. They dropped him the short distance to the ground before dissipating.

"Hey, you okay?" the voice called again. Jaune looked over just as a young blond boy jumped from the tree. Jaune was a bit surprised by him, dressed in jeans and an open shirt exposing his chest. Was he the only one who bothered with armor in this school? "Sorry if I scared you, I was just wondering if you found a coin." The boy extended his hand out to Jaune, a golden tail swishing behind him as he did so.

"Need a hand?"

Jaune reached out and took the other boy's hand, who quickly pulled him to his feet.

"Thanks." Jaune said as he stood. It was only then that he realized how tightly he had his coin gripped into his left hand. Relaxing his fist, he saw he had grasped it so hard that it had left an imprint in his palm.

"Oh, so that's what they look like. Good to know!" The boy exclaimed.

"What, what looks like?" Jaune said nervously slamming his hand shut around the coin.

"Relax, dude. I'm not going to steal your coin; there's probably plenty left to find." The boy shrugged. "Besides, only a jerk would do that." He extended his hand out to Jaune. "Sun."

"Jaune." Jaune replied hesitantly shaking Sun's hand.

"Cool!" Sun smirked. "Between the two of us, we should be able to find a coin for me in no time." Sun put his arm around Jaune's shoulders casually: "Isn't that right partner?"

"What?" Jaune looked at the faunus. Partner? He hadn't agreed to that; he had his coin, he didn't need to be here any longer. He could walk out of this test right now and be done with it! Then again, Sun _did_ probably save his life.

And while Sun was nice enough not to take his coin, others wouldn't be so kind. Having someone watching his back sounded like a good idea at the least: "Alright then, I don't mind working together."

"Alright, man, let's do this." Sun held his fist up to Jaune who only stared at it. "Come on bro, don't leave me hanging." Slowly Jaune brought his fist up to Sun's and tapped it. "Yeah, let's go!"

Wandering around the forest, the pair of blondes kept their eyes peeled for more shrines, but their luck didn't seem very promising.

"So…" Sun spoke up as he sauntered along. "You think there's a pattern or something with these coins?"

"Who knows?" Jaune shrugged. He scanned the surrounding trees looking for any sign of a golden glimmer to catch his eyes. But he saw nothing. "Perhaps there isn't any pattern; maybe I was just lucky." He gazed down at the golden coin in his hand. "Then again, it might be a test to see how observant we are."

"Makes sense, I guess." Sun said as he climbed up a random tree. "Well, nothing up here!." Perching himself on a branch, he looked around the surrounding area. "Looks like we're reaching the end of the forest, the trees are thinning out ahead."

"Well maybe that'll change our luck, maybe there's only one coin per area?" They continued walking onward, Jaune on the ground while Sun bounded from tree to tree. Exiting the forest, they found themselves in a rather desolated area of open rocky mountainside.

"How are we supposed to find a coin in all this?" Sun gave an exasperated sigh.

"Well, they wouldn't give us a test that was impossible, would they?" Jaune brought his hand to his chin in contemplation. "There has to be something, right?"

That was when a loud roar cut through the air around them.

"Shit, shit, shit!" A string of profanities reached Jaune's ears, and he turned to face the source. Barreling towards him at breakneck speed was a girl on a hover-board, which he just then realized is a thing that exists.

"Get down, you idiots!" the girl hissed. The roar sounded this time closer again, she raced past Jaune and Sun and dived behind the nearest outcrop of rock. A moment later, her head peeked out from behind it: "What are you waiting for… _hide!_ "

Jaune and Sun both blinked in confusion for a moment before running to the girl's location.

"You mind telling me what's going on?" Jaune whispered harshly.

"Shhh!" the girl clamped her hand over Jaune's mouth. "It'll hear us!"

"What will?" Sun asked increasingly concerned. A low rumbling growl could be heard coming from the other side of the rock, which was now their only shield from whatever was on the other side.

The three teens sat in silence while the creature, or whatever it was because Jaune wouldn't dare risk peeking out, prowled around sniffing the air and scratching the ground. Finally, after what felt like an eternity had passed, footsteps could be heard plodding away from them.

"Okay, I think it is gone now." The girl let out a sigh of relief.

"Okay, what the hell was that?" Jaune spat.

"Dude." Sun place a hand on his shoulder. "Chill out before you draw that Grimm back here."

"You're right." Jaune took a deep breath to calm himself down; his father often told him when he had been camping to keep a cool head lest nearby Grimm come looking.

"What's there to explain?" the girl cocked her head to the side and placing her hands on her hips to better show her annoyance. "I got chased here by a Grimm and found you two. I wish I could have gotten the coin that…" she stopped clamping her hand over her mouth.

"Wait?" Sun interjected. "You know where a coin is?" The girl sighed, she hadn't meant for that to slip. But the secret was out now.

"Yeah, it was in a cave a little over that way." The girl pointed in the direction that she had come from. "I saw the shrine in there and figured with my board I could race in grab it. It turns out an Odogaron is a lot faster than it looks."

"Yeah but now you have my pal Jaune and me here to help you out." Sun said with an easy smile as he again put his arm around Jaune's shoulder. "Between the three of us, we should be able to help you out with your coin."

"How do I know you guys just won't take mine?" the girl narrowed her eyes, suspicious of such convenient assistance.

"I already have my coin." Jaune blurted out, holding it up for emphasis. "And Sun hasn't taken it." The other boy nodded his support.

"Yeah, I figure I help people out, and they'll return the favor. If you get your coin, then we can focus on finding me one. As a team, we can get one for all of us."

The girl brought her hand to her chin and closed her eyes pondering for a few moments.

"Fine, it's a deal." She declared. "But no funny business or I jet out on my board, got it?"

"Yeah, we got it, errr…" Jaune began suddenly realizing that he didn't know the girl's name.

"Reese." She answered his unasked question.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Reese." Jaune held out his hand. "The name's Jaune Arc; short, sweet, ladies love it."

Reese looked at Jaune for a moment before doubling over in suppressed laughter. Jaune was a little wounded by the response but tried to keep it cool. Sun shook his head gravely beside him.

"Oh man, that was great." She said between laughs. She reached out and gripped Jaune's hand, causing him to wince at the surprising strength of her grip. "Nice to meet you too, Jaune."

"And I'm Sun." the shirtless wonder proclaimed proudly, holding out his fist which Reese pounded without a moment's hesitation.

"Alright, guys." Reese grinned. "We've got this."

 _#####_

"We don't got this!" Reese screamed as she skated her way along the wall of the cave, trying to keep ahead of the Grimm that was bounding behind her.

"Jaune!" Sun called out as he brandished his staff. "I'll run some interference, and you go for the coin!" He pointed to the small green shrine at the edge of a precipice.

"Yeah…sure." Jaune said, a little unsure, but glad to be the one chosen not to fight the Grimm.

"Alright." Sun squared his feet ready to leap. "Now!" He sprang forward at the Grimm, swatting it in the side and causing it to cease its pursuit of Reese. Jaune sprinted for the coin as they sprang into action, running as fast at his legs could carry him.

This is what he wanted, right? To be a hero like his ancestors before him. He was an Arc; this should have just come naturally. Yet, he was terrified; this is what all the other kids his age were expected to fight!? He reached the shrine and slid into a crouch as he stopped. Opening the door, he retrieved the coin inside: green in color and the visage of a dragon carved onto it.

"Jaune, on your six!" Reese shouted.

"My what?" he turned towards the shout to see the Grimm bounding towards him at top speed, leaping to close the distance.

The coin fell from Jaune's grip as time seemed to slow down. This Grimm, an Odogaron Reese had called it, was about to be on top of him. Its oversized teeth and many jagged claws ready to tear him apart. Just as the creature's legs reached him, he backpedaled out of the way, taking a long but shallow slash to his right forearm. Jaune staggered back as he grit his teeth in pain, slipping off the ledge entirely.

Jaune bounced painfully off a few outcrops of rock; he had to slow his decent before he ended up as paste on the cavern floor! Managing to draw his sword he dug it into the rock wall in front of him. His blade dragged through the rock, and Jaune was _very_ thankful for the expert craftsmanship of his family heirloom. Sparks flew as he slowly ground to a stop.

He was panting hard, his arms were aching and trembling, but he kept a death grip on his sword. Looking to see how far he had fallen, he could barely see the path his sword had carved into the rock wall.

Jaune shifted his feet, trying to see if he could somehow will them deeper into the rock to gain a foothold. This was insane; this is what hunters did? Why had his father never spoken of this before? All his stories of the great Arc bloodline, the heroes that were his forebearers had made it seem all so easy! True, he hadn't expected it to be a _cakewalk_ , he had no experience, but weren't they all supposed to be students?

Jaune grit his teeth: it didn't matter. He had found a coin, and he had found some allies. Now all he had to do was get out of here, and hopefully, the school proper would be able to give him the training he always needed.

That's when he felt the sword shift, and he slid down slightly.

"No!" his eyes went wide, as he tried desperately to keep from sliding. He had no idea how high he even was. He didn't dare try to look down as the sword continued to slip and come loose, he was plummeting again and nothing would save him this time. How long until he impacted the ground? The last thing Jaune remembered was a flash of surprised green eyes.

 _#####_

Consciousness slowly came back to him, and he groaned as he shifted, snuggling more into the rather soft pillow he had managed to land on. Wait a minute, why would there be a pillow out here?

The 'pillow' beneath him began to wriggle beneath him as a sharp fingernail poked him in the cheek. Opening his eyes, he looked up to see a black-haired girl with pigtails, and her green eyes narrowed in a scowl. Why was she so angry? Had he hurt her when he fell, what was he going to do?

That was when he realized that he hadn't been snuggling into a pillow earlier. He had landed on top of this girl and had buried his face in her….

"I'm sorry!" Jaune leaped off of her, scrambling away from her. "I didn't mean to…I'm sorry!"

The girl cocked her head to the side studying Jaune almost curiously. Rolling onto her hands and knees, she crawled over to him. Her eyes bored into his.

"Hey, I'm…" Jaune began but stopped when the girl placed her finger on his lips. She then brought it to her own and made a shushing motion. She moved to sit cross-legged in front of him, continuing to study him silently. Raising her hand, she pointed at his right arm.

"My arm? What about…" he looked down at it and saw the large gash that the Grimm had left on his limb. Suddenly aware of the injury, it chose that moment to start hurting. "Ah!" He gripped onto his arm.

It hurt, his whole body hurt in fact, now that his adrenaline had worn off his injuries had caught up to him. "I don't suppose you have a bandage?"

The girl shrugged and shook her head and motioned to her right arm and then to his. She pointed at how her arm was perfectly smooth and unmarred and then to his cut.

"Yeah…I'm hurt? What do you want me to do about it?" Jaune looked at the girl confused.

The girl motioned to herself again and then flourished with a vigorous show of jazz hands.

"Can't you just tell me?" Jaune sighed, starting to get frustrated.

The girl shook her head and pointed to her throat. While Jaune tried to decipher what she meant, he missed the look of realization on the girl's face. She leaned forward, her face inches from Jaune's. Her eyes gleamed dangerously, an evil smirk crawling onto her face.

"What are you doing?" Jaune asked in a timid voice

She inched closer and placed her hands on his shoulders, closed the gap between them, and slammed her lips to his. Jaune's eyes widened, he tried to pull away from her but found that her hand had snaked its way around his neck to hold him firmly in place. What was happening, why was she kissing him, why did he suddenly feel better, was that her _tongue_?!

She pulled back a moment later a wide grin on her face.

"Wow…" Jaune whispered. The girl seemed greatly amused by his reaction. She then pointed at his arm. "What my arm?" Jaune was more interested in why the whole _kissing_ thing had happened, but he followed her finger.

He looked down to see that the cut on his arm had healed, as well as the other minor scrapes and bruises he had received: his whole body engulfed in a fading white glow. "What is this?" he examined himself. "Can you heal people?"

The girl facepalmed and sighed. After a moment she stood up and held her hand out to him. Taking it, Jaune stood and realized that he towered over his silent savior.

"Well, thank you for helping me." Jaune said still feeling a little awkward. "And sorry about… you know." The girl reached up and groped her breasts and smirked mischievously at him. "Yeah, that." The girl silently giggled at his embarrassment. "We should get out of here; do you still need help finding a coin?"

She shook her head.

"Good." Jaune nodded. "I also have one so…" Jaune paused as he reached into his pocket to find only lint: his coin was gone! "I must have dropped it when I fell! what am I going to…"

The girl reached up and clamped a hand over his mouth. With her other hand, she reached into her pocket and placed something in his hand. Jaune looked at it. A coin. He felt the girl's hand leave his mouth.

"Thank you." He looked back up to her, but found that she was gone; vanished into thin air. "Uh…" Jaune was going to call out when he realized he had no idea who she even was.

But whoever she was, he owed her a lot. She had somehow healed his injuries and recovered his lost coin for him. He brought his hands to his lips and grinned. That was his first kiss; not exactly how he expected it to happen, but he wasn't going to complain!

Taking a deep breath, he put his coin back in his pocket and took in his surroundings; now he just had to find a way out of here. Maybe even meet up with Sun and Reese again if he could. Looking himself over once more and checking his gear, he started off down a dark, stone path.

 _#####_

Emerald Sustrai stood leaning against the wall arms, crossed over her chest. She was bored; she had completed her exam in record time and was now waiting in the auditorium for the rest of the participants to finish it. Well knowing the location of her coin in advance had undoubtedly helped with that. She had been here for a while, but now more and more initiates were starting to mill into the common area.

"Hey, Em!" A voice called off to her left causing Emerald to sigh.

"Hey, Merc." Emerald ground out in annoyance; her peace now shattered by her _hopefully_ temporary ally. "You certainly took your time, did you forget how to read a map?"

"Nah, some chump managed to find my coin first." Mercury leaned against the wall next to her his hands behind his head. "I took care of it."

"You didn't pummel them into oblivion; if you get too rough, it may arouse suspicion." She eyed him suspiciously.

"Relax." He shrugged. "I just intimidated him a little. You're taking all this way too seriously."

"And you're not taking this seriously enough!" She snapped her face twisting into a scowl. "This is important, and I can't have you messing up."

"Says the one talking about them in public." He replied with a shit-eating grin.

Emerald quietly seethed, he wasn't wrong, but that didn't mean she didn't want to wipe that smug little smirk off his face.

"Enough, both of you." Cinder spoke softly yet threateningly as she walked up to her two associates.

"Yes, ma'am." Emerald nodded while Mercury went silent. "Is the plan going ahead…" she was cut off as a powerful smell hit her nose nearly causing her to gag. "What is that smell?"

"Apparently one of the initiates couldn't handle the airdrop." Cinder motioned to herself drawing attention to her brown outfit now tinged slightly green with sick. "A minor inconvenience, I plan on taking a long shower after all this. Where is our new friend Noir, is she here yet?"

"Hmm, Roman's gir…" Mercury began but was cut off by a sharp glare from Cinder. "I mean Noir; no haven't seen her yet."

Cinder reached into her pocket and pulled out her scroll. "Well, if she followed instructions, she should be here soon enough."

The three conspirators stood and waited for a while watching as the area slowly filled with students carrying their coins. Finally, after almost an hour of waiting, their final member skipped up to them seemingly without a care in the world.

"There you are." Cinder acknowledged the mute girl as she joined them, her finger tapping impatiently on her crossed arms. "You retrieved your coin." Noir nodded. "Turned it in?" She nodded again with a roll of her eyes following it. "Good."

"If I may have your attention, please!" a voice called out over the speakers, causing the four of them to turn to face the main stage. Professor Stiltskin stood, hunched over a mic. "All initiates have now completed their test and have turned in their coins."

A screen lowered down behind him.

"Many of you are wondering what exactly the coins mean." The professor continued. "Well, I shall explain now." The Image of four coins appeared on the screen. "The design choice this year was the old Mistralian gods, the Northern Tortoise, Southern Bird, Western Tiger and Eastern Dragon. Each of these four coins was a part of a larger set grouped by material. These coins are how your teams have been determined this time around. So, without further ado, here are your assigned teams."

Emerald Signed as the old man began to rattle off teams: this was going to be an even longer one. Her team was a foregone conclusion, and everything was going to her mistress' carefully laid plan.

"Cinder Fall!" Stiltskin announced grabbing her attention. She would be called soon. "Mercury Black!" She watched as her two compatriots walked up onto the stage. "You two retrieved the Southern Bird and Northern Tortoise bronze coins, respectively. You are now partners for the remainder of your stay in Haven Academy." The diminutive man paused. "Emerald Sustrai!"

That was her cue, she began her way up to the stage, in just a moment Roman's girl's name would be called, and their team would be set.

"Jaune Arc!"

Emerald nearly stumbled; what had that shrimp said? She must have misheard him. Her eyes fell to Cinder; surely she would have the answer. What she saw frightened her.

To most Cinder would appear the vision of being calm and collected, but she knew her well enough to see the barely contained fury swirling in her eyes. She stepped onto the stage, followed soon after in by some blonde dork in makeshift armor.

"You two have retrieved the Eastern Dragon and Western Tiger bronze coins respectively. You are now partners for the remainder of your stay in Haven Academy."

Emerald felt dizzy; this couldn't be happening. Cinder had planned out everything. This wasn't how it was supposed to go.

"The four of you will now be known as team Jasmine." The screen behind Stiltskin flashed showing a portrait of herself and her new teammates, the letters JCME below their respective portraits.

This wasn't happening this was a disaster, she glanced at her so-called partner smiling stupidly, doofus wasn't supposed to be here. Everything was falling apart, and it took everything she had not to panic on stage. How could this possibly get any worse?

"Led by Jaune Arc."

It got worse.

* * *

Hello all and welcome to my newest project, this story was conceived by a simple challenge from Mallobaude.

Do for Emerald what I did for the Malachite Twins

And thus this story was born. As always read and review and don't you worry people a new Last Resort is in beta right now and should be out later this week.


	2. Welcome to the Team

**Disillusioned**

By Lightningstrxu

Beta Aetheling

Chapter 2 Welcome to the Team

* * *

Leonardo Lionheart: Headmaster of Haven Academy and a living legend. Those who had followed him into battle have said that they have never met a braver man. He faced down the hordes of Grimm in defense of the innocent. It was said that with his weapon, Proud Roar, in his hands he would become the center of a raging storm of the elements; scorching, freezing and shocking all who stood in his path.

Seeing that man cower as her mistress berated him, Emerald had reason to believe that those stories were greatly exaggerated.

"How did this happen?!" Cinder fumed, her fist slamming onto the desk. "More importantly how could _you_ let this happen?"

"I didn't do anything." The headmaster pleaded.

"Exactly." She scowled. "How did you not see that the team assignments were wrong?"

"I didn't." he put his head in his hands. "Stiltskin always handles the initiation exam every year; I don't have anything to do with it."

"Of course you don't." Emerald whispered under her breath while rolling her eyes. Cinder sent a glare back at the green haired girl before returning her ire to the headmaster.

"Besides I held up my end, it was _your_ people that failed to retrieve the coins."

"Need I remind you, Leo, who I work for, who _you_ work for?"

"Look, aren't we all just splitting hairs here." Mercury piped in. "I mean, you're the headmaster, can't you just change the teams to what we want?"

"It's not that simple, young man." Leo sighed. "The teams have already been set; if I tried to change them now, it would raise questions."

"Questions and attention that we cannot afford to have focused on us." Cinder added.

"Meaning?" Emerald cocked her head to the side.

"It means we are unfortunately stuck with Mr. Arc. For now, I will trust you to keep him from discovering anything he should not."

"With all due respect ma'am," Emerald asked hesitantly, "why me?"

"He is your partner isn't he?" Cinder cooed. "That makes him your responsibility."

Emerald repressed a sigh; great she had to play babysitter, just the news she needed today.

 _#####_

Jaune lounged on his bed, a wide grin on his face. He had done it; he was officially a student of Haven Academy. He had a room, he had a uniform, and he had a _team_.

Well, in theory, he had a team. He hadn't seen them since the initiation ceremony. They had run off almost as soon as possible and hadn't been back since.

Standing up, he began to look around the room; it was sparsely decorated, four beds with a small dresser next to each for belongings. A single desk and four chairs, just enough for him and his new team.

His team...It was still so new to him. Not only was he on a real huntsmen team; he was the leader. He wasn't sure _what_ exactly lead to that decision, but he was determined to be the best leader possible. His teammates seemed like an interesting bunch - what little he had interacted and seen of them.

First, there was Cinder: perhaps the most literal definition of a knockout, she just exuded confidence that made her all the more appealing. She seemed like she would be a much better leader than he would. She acted like she should be in charge, too, hopefully, she wouldn't be too mad that he ended up on top.

Mercury seemed like a pretty cool guy, perhaps just a little too cocky with that smirk he seemed to always have. But at the same time, he was someone who could probably back it up.

Then there was Emerald, his partner. A pretty girl in her own right; then again every single girl he had met so far at Haven was attractive. He guessed it came from the active lifestyles that huntsmen lead? She had seemed unusually standoffish to him, hardly making eye contact with him and fidgeting. Perhaps she was nervous? The way the three acted, it looked like they had all known each other previously. So, maybe she wasn't good around new people?

He brought his hand to his chin in contemplation. His mother had always said that "strangers were just friends you haven't met yet', and he trusted that saying." He had to find a way to break the ice, find some common ground. Glancing over at the clock that adorned the dorm's wall, he saw it was only a little after three. Eyes widening, he snapped his fingers. He had the perfect icebreaker.

Walking over to his door, he slipped out of the room.

Time to be a leader, Jaune.

 _#####_

Cinder led them out of the Headmaster's office, the three returning to their dorm and Emerald trying to force a pleasant expression on as she opened the door to her _"team's"_ dorm room.

She was immediately assaulted by the sight of her so-called partner standing in the middle of the room, a stupid grin on his face.

"Hello, teammates." He declared proudly. "I decided that since we are going living together for a while that we could try to break the ice." He pointed over to the desk and on it was cake a bottle of soda with some paper cups and plates. "So, I stopped by the cafeteria and…" he rubbed the back of his head nervously, "well it took a bit of lien and some convincing, but I got us some things for a little get-to-know-each-other party."

Emerald blinked a few times while looking at the blonde boy incredulously. Was he serious? Did he think that Cinder would find him endearing by providing sweets, or her or even Mercury? What a stupid idea.

"Sweet!" Mercury walked over to the table procuring himself a slice. "Thanks, man."

"You're welcome!" Her partner replied while pouring out a few glasses of soda.

Emerald's eye twitched. Of course, he _would_ be that easy to please; the stupid meathead would be all over…

"What an excellent idea, Jaune." Cinder said with a rather amused smile on her face. "I would love some."

"Here you go." Jaune cut her a slice as well and handed it to her. "What about you, partner?"

Emerald had to bite her tongue to keep herself from just screaming no at him. He wasn't supposed to be here, he wasn't a part of the plan, and now he had the nerve to try and be nice to her? To try and be her _friend?_ She mentally recoiled at that idea. But after taking a brief moment to glance at Cinder, who seemed to be enjoying the cake at least, she knew she would have to play along at least a little bit.

"Yeah, I'll take some." She said while contorting her mouth into perhaps the most forced smile she had ever had to give.

"Uh, yeah." Jaune's face fell slightly, he may have been as thick as a brick, but even he could tell when someone was humoring him. "Here you go." He handed her the slice of cake.

"Thanks." She took it from him and went and sat down on a nearby bed. Silently eating her cake, despite its source, she noted that is was quite good.

"Don't worry about her, Jaune." Mercury placed his hand on his fellow teammates shoulder. "She's always been kind of a bitch." He stage-whispered.

"I heard that!" Emerald snapped glaring at him.

"You were supposed to." Mercury took a sip of soda. "Our fearless leader here went out of his way to prepare a welcome for us." He grinned smugly at her. "And you sit there being all prickly. Isn't that right Jaune?"

The new leader looked nervously between his two teammates; Emerald looked very much like she was trying to will Mercury to burst into flames with her mind alone.

"I have no comment on this." Jaune seemed to shrink back, not wanting to get involved in the current argument.

"Jerk." Emerald spat venomously.

"Ooooh, good comeback." Merc rolled his eyes.

"Enough, both of you!" Cinder interjected, her eyes closed and rubbing her temples in annoyance.

Jaune started to laugh, causing his other three teammates to stare at him.

"Glad to see you all bicker like anyone else." He took a sip of soda. "It makes it feels like home." He held out his cup. "Come on everyone, to Team JCME."

"A wonderful idea." Cinder smiled sweetly, it was just as fake as Emerald's had been earlier, but she was a much better actress.

"Whatever you say." Mercury held up his cup as well.

Emerald looked up to her two compatriots and then to her partner.

"Go, team." She deadpanned as she held out her cup.

With the impromptu toast completed, they drank their soda.

Jaune smiled, his partner still seemed a little prickly, but it was a step in the right direction.

 _#####_

Jaune fidgeted as he sat in his chair, waiting for the class to begin. This would be his first class at Haven, and he had no idea what to expect. His eyes wandered over to the classroom taking in his classmates.

He saw Sun sitting a few rows ahead of him sitting with his team, ironically enough called Team SSNN. He felt his face flare up when he caught sight of the black haired girl sitting next to Sun. The girl who had helped him saved him, _kissed_ him. She noticed him looking in her direction and gave a playful little wave, a predatory grin spreading across her face.

"Hey." He whispered while waving sheepishly back.

He'd have to remember to give her more proper thanks later. His attention wandered, and he spotted Reese's wild mess of teal hair; she seemed to have settled in with her team nicely, ABRN if he recalled correctly. He'd have to see if he could get a proper introduction to her other teammates, and Sun's as well. Perhaps some sort of meet and greet between all their respective teams?

Bringing his hand to his chin, he contemplated. Maybe some kind of sport or activity, did Huntsmen Academies even have extracurricular activities?

His musings were interrupted when the door to the classroom opened. The diminutive form of Professor Stiltskin strode inside. Hobbling his way to the front of the class, he stepped up onto his podium.

"Good morning, class." He began, speaking loudly and clearly so the whole room could hear him. "Welcome to your first day at Haven Academy. I first saw all of you at initiation, but allow me to make a formal introduction."

Taking a moment to clear his throat he coughed into his hand. "I am Professor Rupert Stiltskin, Deputy Headmaster of Haven Academy and your Dust instructor."

He took another moment to study his new students he prepared to give his lecture; one he had given many times in his tenure at Haven.

"Now, a show of hands, who's weapons here make use of dust." The wizened professor addressed them.

Jaune watched as nearly every one of his classmates raised their hands, only himself and a few other outliers remained.

"Really?" The professor eyed Jaune curiously. While many weapons didn't focus specifically on the use of Dust, most at least used dust in their ammo. But a non-Dust user, that was a very rare thing in this day and age. "What type of weapon do you use Mr." he glanced down at his podium checking his seating chart. "Arc."

"Oh um…" he glanced around nervously. "A shield and sword." Why did the professor have to single him out, and on the first day too?

"Hmm, not much experience with Dust huh?" the professor stroked his chin in contemplation. "Well, that's perfect for today's lesson. The Basics of Dust safety."

A collective groan escaped the class.

"Now, now." The professor chided his class with a waggle of his finger. "Safety first and foremost is the most important thing to remember when handling Dust. There's a huge difference between the Dust in your scroll versus the Dust in your weapon. No matter how much you use, you must understand how it works. Never take stupid risks like, say, drinking a pint of gravity dust because your teammate triple dog dared you."

The class blinked at the oddly specific scenario.

"Anyway, Dust is a substance of variable volatility, you should treat it as a dangerous substance regardless of the type you're handling..." the professor began his lecture.

Jaune's first day of class was about to begin.

 _#####_

Jaune walked into his next class, and the layout astounded him. Unlike the generic lecturer's hall, like Stiltskin's, this classroom had a very warm and relaxed feeling. Plush carpeting on the floor as well as dozens of comfortable chairs and pillows to sit on all arranged in a circle around a central dais. Finding a particularly comfy chair, he plopped down into it. Mercury dropped onto a pillow and put his arms behind his head, closing his eyes to attempt a quick nap.

Emerald quietly sat down next to him; despite the success of last night's welcome party, she still seemed a little standoffish to him. With a sigh, he leaned his head back against the chair; baby steps that was all that was needed. They'd only known each other for a day, and it's not like she'd become his best friend overnight. Looking around, he noticed that Cinder was nowhere to be seen.

Actually now that he thought about it, he didn't remember seeing her in the first class either.

"Hey," he looked over to his partner. "Where's Cinder?"

"Hmm." Emerald glanced up at him. "Cinder, oh yeah, she's in a more advanced class." Her eyes darted back and forth. "She tested well in the qualification exams and the initiation, so she has a different lesson plan than us."

"Oh.." he nodded, feeling a little bit disappointed. He had hoped that he would be able to get to know his teammates better as well as being able to rely on them to aid him in catching up on five plus years of education that he lacked. But now one of his teammates wasn't even going to be in class with him, and she hadn't even told him.

"Well that's good for her, but it'll make it hard for us to learn as a team if she's ahead of us."

"I guess." She shrugged dismissively.

There it was again, that attitude of hers. She acted like he wasn't supposed to be here, which technically she was correct in that assumption. But she had no way of knowing that he had forged his way into Haven, right? Either way, he hoped she warmed up soon.

"Good morning, class." A soft voice caught Jaune's attention to the center of the class; sitting lazily on the raised dais was someone whom Jaune assumed was the professor. Odd, he hadn't seen them come in. They had long light red hair a pair of matching colored fox ears sticking out from it, and were dressed in loose red and gold robes. The professor moved in an almost ethereal, otherworldly way. "Welcome to Diplomacy. It's good to see all of you so eager and ready to start." An amused look formed on their face as their gaze fell on the sleeping Mercury.

"Hey, wake up." Jaune reached down to tap Mercury.

"Please, allow me." Jaune started as the professor spoke up next to him, they were now balanced perfectly on the back of his chair.

"How?" Jaune looked from the dais to the back of his chair. There was no way that they would have been able to move from there without him noticing, and yet they had.

"Excuse me, young man." The professor tapped the silver-haired boy on his shoulder.

"Wha?" Mercury started awake. "Who the hell are you?"

Jaune winced upon hearing his teammate take a tone like that with a teacher. But if they were upset they didn't show it; they're demeanor still calm with an amused expression.

"I am Ginko Kin. Your instructor in the fine art of wordplay." They gracefully jumped off the back of Jaune's chair and landed in front of Mercury, grabbing a pillow they sat down cross-legged in front of him. "Now please tell me why you were asleep in class; if you give me a good enough argument, I will be lenient and not give you detention."

"What?" Mercury looked at them confused. "I was tired."

"Tired." The professor cocked they're head to the side. "Now why would that be, Mr. Black."

"I don't remember giving you my name?"

"I would be a poor teacher if I did not know the name of my students, now would I? Now tell me, why were you tired, Mr. Black?"

"Well, I mean initiation was just yesterday." He shrugged. "I got worn out from that."

"Interesting, interesting." They tapped their chin. "But if I recall correctly, you finished the initiation in almost record time; is this correct?"

Mercury nodded.

"Also, I believe that final team announcements finished at around five in the evening, plenty of time to unwind and get a proper night's rest."

"Yeah well, I just…"

Jaune watched as Mercury struggled to come up with an argument. He wasn't sure if he should perhaps interject on his teammate's behalf, that is what a leader should do. It had been his fault, all that cake and soda probably didn't do well for trying to sleep. Glancing over at his partner for some kind of guidance, he saw that Emerald's eyes shining brightly. She seemed to take great joy in Mercury's current predicament.

"Do you have nothing else to say in your defense?" Professor Kin asked very condescendingly.

"I mean, how much more could I possibly say?"

"I see." The professor sighed. "Well it is your first day, not everyone takes so well to the art of debate. I shall forgive you this one time." They held up a single finger for emphasis.

"Next time I expect you to be ready for class, is this understood."

"Uh, yeah." He shrugged.

"Good." The professor smiled before suddenly seeming to shimmer out of existence reappearing standing on the dais. "As I was saying before, this class is to teach you the art of debate and the spoken word. You see, while our primary job as huntsmen is to protect the populous from the creatures of Grimm."

Kin shimmered again, this time appearing on the other side of the room.

Jaune's eyes followed the teacher as they blinked around the classroom, they had superpowers?

"But we also exist to protect people from themselves." Another shimmer, moving around the room as they spoke. "Sometimes, we do not have the luxury to be able to shoot our way out of the problem. Sometimes, words are our only recourse."

They shimmered and reappeared on the central dais again.

"Always remember class. Weapons can destroy a foe, but words destroy a kingdom." They sat down their feet dangling over the edge of the dais.

"Now I ask of you for your first debate, talk about it amongst yourselves, and you will present your arguments at the next class."

The class shifted, awaiting their assignment from the eccentric teacher.

A wide grin formed on the professor's face, a mischievous light danced in their eyes.

"Am I a man or a woman?"

 _#####_

Jaune fiddled with his armor as he walked out into the arena. It was time for his last class of the day.

Well, last two: Auramancy and Combat Training.

This was the class he was most nervous about; the other classes he felt that he could at least fake his way through them until he was caught up. Hell, diplomacy was just arguing, and he had plenty of experience with that. But combat, he had no experience with that. Would the teacher notice? Realize he's a fraud"?

What even _was_ Auramancy?

He glanced around, Emerald seemed calm and so did Mercury. Even Cinder was here. He guessed that no matter how advanced her classes, she still needed to fight with everyone else. He took his seat next to his partner, taking the time to look around the room.

The classroom was like a small stadium, bleachers all around a central ring for sparing. A door on the other end of the room opened, in walked a rather striking young woman with a regal air about her.

"Good afternoon, class." She spoke loudly and clearly. "I am Jade Lu, and I will be your instructor for Auramancy as well as overseeing your combat training." Her eyes scanned the crowd. "All of you are now official Huntsmen in training, and so it will one day fall to you to make sure that humanity his kept safe from the creatures of Grimm. Through this course, I will be helping you to refine your combat style and perfect your use of aura."

Aura, there was that word again; so Auramancy must be the use of aura, then. Jaune hung off the instructor's every word. While this class caused him the most worry, it was also the one of greatest interest to him. _This_ was what he needed to learn; _this_ is what was needed to fulfill his dream; to become a hero like his ancestors before him.

"So, first things first." Jade continued her lesson. "All of you are powerful combatants, but I've yet to see your skills for myself. For my first lesson, you will be sparing with your partners, so that I may evaluate where you all stand."

The combat instructor pulled out her scroll and scanned through her list of students.

"Jaune Arc and Emerald Sustrai." Jade called out. "Please come down to the arena."

Jaune bit his lip, of course he was first. Checking over his armor and weapons he made his way down to the arena.

 _#####_

Emerald cracked a genuine smile; this was probably the best thing to happen all day, maybe even all week. Striding down to the arena, she stood across from her partner. He looked nervous as the fight was about to begin.

Good.

She was going to enjoy this; she would take out her frustrations on this fool and show him exactly where he stood.

"Alright, you two." Jade instructed looking at the two combatants. "You will begin on my signal, first to bring their opponent to below twenty-five percent aura will be the winner. Is this understood?"

"Yes." They both nodded. Jade stepped off to the side.

Jaune drew readied his shield and sword, while Emerald drew her guns.

Jade's hand lowered in a swift motion. "Begin!"

A loud series of bangs filled the arena as Emerald's guns fired, Jaune raised his shield to defend, nearly staggering back from the impact of Emerald's rounds against the shield.

Emerald smirked as she stopped firing, her guns shifting to sickle form. With a surprising burst of speed, she ran forward past Jaune. The blades on her sickles shot out, extending on long chains they wrapped around his legs. With a quick tug, he fell forward flat on his face.

He struggled to try and push himself up, but she wouldn't give him that chance. Racing forward she jumped landing an easy kick to the back of his head driving his face into the arena floor.

Hard.

The stone gave way as it cracked slightly under the force of the kick. Her foot raised again to stamp him into the ground one more time for good measure.

"Stop!" the voice of Professor Lu demanded, snapping her out of her _very_ cathartic ass kicking.

Emerald looked down at him; he was passed out with blood trickling from his nose. A proud smirk formed, she had finally broken that goofy face of his.

"Guess I win." She sheathed her weapons and began to walk out of the arena.

"Miss Sustrai!" Jade snapped, Emerald turned to see the teacher crouched by Jaune. "Mr. Arc, are you okay." She placed her hand on his back, and he became a surrounded by a strong glow.

"Damn it." Jaune coughed and sputtered as he came to. "Ow…"

"Take him to the school nurse." Jade pointed at the door. "Go down the hall, and it's the second left."

"Yes, ma'am." Emerald nodded, walking over to Jaune. "Come on."

"Such sympathy." Jaune spat out as he and Emerald began to walk in tandem.

"You're not that hurt." She rolled her eyes. "I've had worse."

"You could at least apologize, I think you broke my nose." He griped holding his face.

"Please if I were trying to do that…"She paused…she _had_ been trying to do that.

They reached the second left and turned down the hall. "Besides it's your fault for not watching your back, I was barely even trying."

"Well, it's not like I know how to fight!" Jaune stopped to glare at her. "I mean…I don't remember; I'm a little bit delirious right now." Jaune backpedaled his words seeing the incredulous look she gave him.

"Idiot." She muttered angrily.

"Do you even care?" Jaune was getting increasingly annoyed, she had given him the cold shoulder since they met, and his wound wasn't helping his patience.

"Not really, you'll be fine." She was also on her last nerve; she had barely gotten started in their match, and her _partner_ had proven to worthless. She had expected to win, there was no way a student could hope to match her, but she had expected _some_ kind of resistance

"Well, he we are." She said, stopping before the nurse's office.

"I'll see you back at the room." Jaune started to push the door open. "Partner." He spat out in frustration.

"Whatever." She spun on her heels and walked away from the room. It didn't matter what that idiot thought of her. He would never be her friend, no matter how hard he tried. If she were lucky, he would stop trying, and he'd leave her alone for the rest of her time here.

In her fuming state, she returned to her dorm. She was probably supposed to either stay with Jaune or return to class, but she didn't care. She'd take whatever punishment the teacher would give out. She'd had worse.

The door opened after a while and Cinder strode inside. A scowl on her face.

Emerald sat up to face her.

"What do you think you're doing?" her mistress said coolly, but the sharp edge in her voice was unmistakable. "Your partner was hurt by your actions."

"I know." Emerald spoke, unsure how to react. Cinder was angry, that much was obvious.

"And in front of everyone, you acted like you didn't care." She pointed at Emerald, her eyes glowing. "In fact, you chose to escalate after you had already won. We are not supposed to draw attention to ourselves, and behavior like that can start rumors and rumors turn to suspicion and suspicion to scrutiny."

"What do you want me to do?"

"You apologize to Jaune, first of all." Cinder sighed. "I know you don't like him, but at least pretend to be his friend. Say you had an off day. If we keep the boy complacent, he won't notice a thing, but if he thinks he needs to watch his back with you..."

"Yes." Emerald nodded.

"Professor Lu asked me to tell you that she would like to speak with you at the next possible convenience. She seemed concerned about your behavior."

"Understood."

"You are to act apologetic, explain that you and Jaune got off on the wrong foot, and you took that aggression out on him, but now that you've had time to think, you realize you were being harsh."

"Act sympathetic, apologize, and get her off our backs." Emerald replied almost automatically.

"Good." Cinder smiled. "One more thing; I shall be out this evening, talking with one of our _associates._ Tell Jaune that I am at an advanced study session, do not wait up." With that Cinder walked out of the room.

Emerald fell back onto her bed. Great, now Cinder was mad at her. But she was right; if they were going to do this, she had no other choice.

She had to play nice.

* * *

Well he's chapter 2, a fair amount of this chapter was for introducing the OC teacher staff. If you like them I may use them more if you want, if not then they won't play a big role no more than any beacon staff.

It's good to see that Jaune and Emerald are up to such a stellar start.

Read and Review everyone.


	3. Let's Start Fresh

**Disillusioned**

By Lightningstrxu

Beta Aetherling

Chapter 3 Let's Start Fresh

* * *

With a weary sigh, Emerald entered the office. "You wanted to see me Prof…" her eyes went wide. Was this supposed to be a teacher's office or an art studio? The spacious office was filled to the with a myriad of clay sculptures, abstract paintings, and little paper constructs. There in a corner, she saw Professor Lu, the normally regal looking combat instructor dressed in a frumpy smock covered in stains, she was hunched over a hunk of clay carefully sculpting it with intense focus. "Um Professor?" she raised her eyebrow, not sure what to make of the situation.

Finally noticing her the artist glanced up from her work. "Miss Sustrai," she smiled warmly. "I hope you weren't waiting long. I sometimes get wrapped up in my work."

"Not at all ma'am." she shook her head. "I can tell that it looks…" she stared at the abstract lump of clay. "...engaging."

"No need to lie." the professor chuckled as she put her tools away. "I know my craft isn't to everyone's tastes." motioning to a desk in the corner. "Come and sit."

Following her Emerald sat down, looking at the desk it was littered with various art and crafts much like the rest of the studio. She noticed a picture on the desk of a familiar fox-eared faunus. A friendship? Or more? That could be useful information for Cinder to know just in case.

"Oh are you and Professor Kin close?" she asked feigning curiosity.

"We are partners yes." she replied as she began preparing tea in a rather ornate kettle, heated by an appliance on her desk. Emerald briefly toyed with the idea of swiping it, she could use the extra lien, but she quickly dismissed it. That would spark all kinds of problems.

"Oh like Jaune and I?"

"I wasn't aware you had made up that well." an amused smirk formed on the professor's face.

"Oh…" red eyes widened in false realization. "So Professor Kin is your hus…" she stopped, she had no idea how to address them. She couldn't afford to draw the combat instructor's ire more than she already had. "Wife?" like most problems that plagued her she hoped a good stab in the dark would solve the issue.

The Professor's face held a bemused expression. "I will inform you Miss Sustrai, that I am well aware of Professor Kin's assignment and you will not be getting any answers out of me."

"Oh no ma'am." she shook her head fiercely. "I would never consider…"

"Deception is very unbecoming of you Miss Sustrai. Lying isn't your strong suit."

Really? Lying was like ninety-five percent of what she did. "Yes ma'am." she nodded putting the comment aside.

"And no more ma'am, while in here you may call me Jade or Professor if using my name is uncomfortable. Is this agreeable Emerald?"

"Yes ma-Professor." she corrected.

"Good, ma'am always sounds so old, it's not like I'm your mother."

Emerald could only shake her head, I mean the professor could be for all she knew. It's not like she had ever had parents.

"Now to the business at hand." retrieving to equally ornate cups, she poured two cups of tea. To Emerald's surprise a paper doll stood up from the desk and took the cup from Jade, it then waddled its way across the desk and held the cup of tea before the thief.

"Um...thank you." Her red eyes blinked in confusion not sure what to make of it. Hesitantly she reached out and accepted the cup from the doll. Which then bowed before waddling back across the table and offering Jade a cup as well.

"Thank you, Miyuki." the professor to the cup from the doll which then bowed again before collapsing back into lifelessness. "I find that she is such a lovely icebreaker don't you think?"

"I guess." she nodded taking a mental note to tell Cinder later, she would want to be informed of what the faculty was capable of, then again the headmaster had probably already told her mistress.

"So tell me Emerald." Jade sipped from her tea. "Would you mind telling me why you felt the need to nearly end your partner's huntsman career early?"

Emerald flinched and put on the best guilty look she could muster. "I was angry with him. We got off on a bad foot yesterday and I let that simmer. I am sorry that happened."

"Are you now?" The professor raised her eyebrow questioningly. "The boy was beaten and you were about to stomp him into solid stone, and Nurse Nikos told me that you didn't even stay with him after you dropped him off."

"As I said." she took a sip of the tea, suppressing a gag at how bitter it was. "I was upset, and I got carried away. I am sorry to both you and him."

"Does he know that?" Jade asked sternly.

"Well not yet…" she hesitated. "He wasn't in the room when I woke up this morning. I think he's avoiding me."

"I wonder why that would be." the professor remarked snidely. "After you leave here today I want you to find Mr. Arc."

"And apologize…" she spat out without thinking, she was tired of all this counseling. "I get it!" she blinked, realizing the error she had made. "I'm sorry, I'm just."

"Enough," Jade said curtly. "You will talk to _your_ partner, and you will put aside whatever foolishness is going on between you two."

"Yes Professor."

Jade let out a long sigh. "I don't like being so stern, all of you are nearly adults but at the same time, you still have so much to learn. I'd hate to see your huntress career end due to your temper." she took another sip of her tea. "I want you to meet back here within a weeks time."

"What?" Now she was genuinely confused. Why she had met and resolved to apologize to the dork. What more did she need to do?

"It's just a precaution, to make sure you're actually following through on your promises. I see a lot of potential in you as a huntress: your transcripts spoke highly of you, and your performance in initiation was astounding, But I can see a callousness in you...and it worries me."

"I see." she nodded.

"I'm glad we've reached an agreement." she waved her hand. "You're free to go, and please think about what I've told you."

"Yes professor." she stood, it took everything she had to not roll her eyes as she left the room. Guess she had to go find her _partner._

 _######_

A metallic clang echoed through the training hall. Jaune swung his sword wildly at the training post. He had been here since the morning he had to get better and obviously his caring and sympathetic partner wasn't going to help him. Panting raggedly he brought his sword down clang of metal on metal reverberating through his arm.

"Damn it." the sword clattered to the ground, his arm felt like it was on fire. But he had to get better, he knew he had no chance of winning yesterday. But there was a difference between being beaten and being humiliated. He wasn't sure what he had done to make Emerald want to give him such a beatdown. But she had made it perfectly clear that she had wanted nothing to do with him. So it was up to himself to get stronger.

"Having fun?"

Jaune nearly jumped out of his skin turning around he saw Sun leaning against the door frame. "Geez, you nearly scared me to death."

"Oh, sorry." the shirtless wonder shrugged. "Decided to get some more training in?"

"Yeah." picking up his sword and resheathing it. "After yesterday, I figured it was a good idea."

"Yeah, you got your ass kicked...well more like your head."

"I know." he deadpanned. "I was there."

"Yeah, you sucked."

"Thanks…"

Sun brought his hands up reassuringly. "Hey, I didn't mean anything by that…"

"Nah you're right, but that's why we're here right. To get better."

"There that's the spirit." he smiled wrapping his arm around Jaune's shoulder. "C'mon I was just about to meet up with my team for lunch. You're more than welcome to join us. Unless you got plans with your team?"

His team, right... despite the party seeming to go well, he still felt like a third-or he guessed in this case fourth-wheel. Cinder was never around, she had already been gone by the time he had woke up this morning, he wasn't sure if she had even come back to sleep. Mercury just felt like he was very indifferent to everything. He was likely still passed out in bed. There was Emerald, the girl who was to be his partner for the next four years. The girl who had made it very clear she hated his guts for absolutely no reason.

"No, I think my schedule is clear."

"Perfect!" Sun slapped him on the back causing Jaune to stumble forward. "Let's go."

Leaving the training room the blonde pair made their way through Haven's halls until they had reached the cafeteria, filled with to the brim with future huntsmen in training. After a brief wait in line Jaune had procured what he was sure was a very healthy and nutritious school lunch.

"Alright team." Sun piped up as they reached a table. "I'd like you to meet my friend Jaune." he motioned to the table. "Jaune meet the team." pointing at a blue-haired young man. "This is Neptune ."

"Hey." Neptune smiled cooly giving Jaune some finger guns.

"And he's Scarlet." Sun continued.

"Charmed." the red-haired boy nodded.

"And lastly we have Noir."

The black haired girl smiled at Jaune before winking.

"Yeah, we've met before." Jaune stammered.

"And together we're Team SSNN." Sun stood proudly posing.

"That's uh...pretty convenient name."

"I know right!" the monkey faunus exclaimed. "It's probably because of how awesome I am. They couldn't help but name the team after me."

"Such a humble commander he is." Scarlett commented.

"Damn right I am." Sun flopped into his seat.

Jaune hesitantly sat down. "So guys…" an adorable yet oddly threatening scowl formed across the table. "And girl." A smile of approval. "How you liking Haven so far?"

"Dude we've only been here a day." Neptune chirped up. "But it's cool I guess." he added with a shrug.

"Well personally I find it most agreeable." said Scarlett. "The teachers have been very nice so far, and the class schedule couldn't be more relaxed."

"Yeah, it's pretty nice." Jaune agreed. Haven's class rotation was very different from what he was used to. Classes were held every Monday, Wednesday and Friday; with Tuesdays, Thursdays and weekends being free days. He assumed that down the line this would be mean some very intense homework. But for now they would have plenty of free time.

Noir proceeded to mime eating with a spoon and giving a sigh of contentment. "Haven is…" Jaune asked hesitantly trying to figure out the mute girl's meaning. "Yummy?" an ecstatic nod was from the strange girl. "I mean I guess the foods alright." a shake of her head. She wasn't talking about the food? Then what was she talking about?

"What about you Jaune?" Sun asked.

Jaune let out a heavy sigh. He honestly wasn't sure, initiation had been trying but it was an overall positive experience. The teachers seemed pretty nice so far, he had even made good acquaintances with Sun and Reese.

"It's been alright." he began hesitantly.

"Except for your partner?" Scarlett questioned.

"Yeah…" another sigh. "I have no idea what I did, but she was very clear yesterday that she wants nothing to do with me."

"Do you know if it was something you said?" asked Neptune.

"Nothing," Jaune replied with a shake of his head. "The only interaction we've had is a small welcoming party our first night and yesterday's fight."

"Maybe it's that time of the mo.." Sun didn't get to finish his thought as a spoon flew across the table to smack his chest. Noir fixing him with a fierce glare.

"You're a girl, what do you think? Does my existence offend you?" Jaune inquired, hoping the strange girl might provide answers.

His green-eyed savior gave him a look as if asking him 'really?' before rolling her eyes. He guessed that made sense. Obviously, she liked him, she did kiss him after all…

He probably should be more concerned about that.

"I just wish I knew what it was."

"Have you considered asking her?" Scarlett asked.

"I mean I guess I could." Jaune rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I haven't spoken to her since she dropped me off at the nurse's office. I left this morning before she woke up." he drummed his fingers on the table. "Do I just say 'Hey why don't you like me?' I doubt it's that simple."

"You'd be surprised." a voice called from behind him, and judging from the wide-eyed looks Team SSNN was giving, he didn't really need to guess who it was. Turning around slowly, there was his partner with arms crossed and foot tapping.

"Well I got to go... fix my hair." Neptune stood from his seat.

"Ditto." Scarlett followed.

"Come on Noir." Sun stood up, the mute girl giving a forlorn look at not seeing the impending show before being dragged out.

"Hey Emerald." Jaune waved sheepishly.

His partner's red eyes narrowed before she let out a sigh and extended a hand to him. "I'm sorry."

"You're what now?"

"I'm sorry…" she shuffled on her feet looking uncomfortable. "For bashing your face in. I just…"

"You just what?" he replied with an eyebrow raised. "You could have killed me."

"I was angry, alright?" she continued. "I just felt that…" she paused looking like she was searching for the right words. "I felt that Cinder would have been a better leader than you, and I couldn't understand why you were chosen instead."

"You're probably right." he shrugged. "I'm not sure why I was chosen either."

"Yeah, but at the end of the day she wasn't chosen and you were, and it will be a rough four years if we spend the whole time hating each other's guts. So let's start again."

Jaune stared down at the girl, unsure what to think: not even a day ago she had stomped him into the ground, nearly breaking his nose. But she seemed honest enough, and he _was_ here to learn how to not get his ass handed to him on a daily basis.

"Jaune Arc." he gripped her hand.

"Emerald Sustrai."

With a shake of hands, Jaune hoped that this would be the start of a good partnership.

 _#####_

If you had asked Emerald yesterday what she thought she would be doing today, the answer would not be playing video games. But here she was, playing some inane shooter with her partner who barely knew how to hold a sword. One she could beat to a pulp easily.

"Damn it!" she hurled her scroll across the room.

One who was apparently god at FPSs. Once again she had been shot down before she had even found Jaune's character.

"Geez, I didn't think you'd be this much of a sore loser." Jaune teased. "On second thought it actually makes sense."

With a grunt of frustration, she went and retrieved her scroll. It would be just one murder, how much harm could it cause? Surely with Cinder having Headmaster Lionheart wrapped around her finger, it would be easy to cover it up. They could easily function as a three-man team.

Sitting back down next him she glared at the screen in front of her. It had been his stupid idea to- ugh- _bond_ over video games. He had probably planned this, some small form of revenge on his part. Eyes narrowing, she had a devilish idea. It was so simple she was ashamed she hadn't thought of it earlier.

"One more match. Winner takes all." She dared.

"Oh?" he cocked his head to the side. "So what would I be winning?"

"Well, the winner does the other's laundry for the week." She suggested managing keep a predatory grin from forming on her face.

"No laundry for a week?" he pondered it for a moment. "Deal."

Perfect… the match began just as it had before. She knew from the ten previous attempts that her partner was a no good camper of a sniper. But she knew if she could figure out where he was holed up she could take him out at close range. The problem was her character always ended up with a bullet in their head before she found him.

Running from the spawn point, Emerald broke the time-honored code of screen looking and glanced at her partner's side of the screen: she'd need it to pull off the trick believably. Jaune's sniper rang out but he found no target there.

"What?!" he stared at his screen confused. But those missed shots gave her all the clues she needed to find his location sprinting and with a single well placed shotgun blast she was victorious.

"Ha! beat you." she stuck out her tongue.

"How?" he continued. "I could have sworn I had you."

"Sounds like you're seeing things." she smirked.

"I guess." he rubbed his eyes.

Emerald smiled a pleased smile: an easy con and no laundry problems for the week on top of it.

Maybe having a sucker for a partner wouldn't be so bad.

* * *

Well another chapter done...counts on fingers...and a number left to go. I really enjoyed getting into Emerald's mindset this chapter. As well as writing with Team SSNN. Neo is surprisingly fun to write for. As always read and review. And to those who may not know I have a new story out called Chasing Gold. Take a look if you want.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disillusioned**

By Lightningstrxu

Beta Aethling & Jiu-Jitsu Dude

Chapter 4

* * *

Jaune currently had his head buried in a dryer, reaching out to grab ahold of a stubborn sock when a hand suddenly slapped his behind.

"Hey Jaune, how's it hanging?" the offending slapper asked jovially as the boy yelped and banged his head on the top of the machine.

"Well, I bumped my head." Jaune griped, pulling back and rubbing the sore spot on his head. "And somebody slapped my butt for no reason." his eyes narrowed taking in the grinning culprit.

"What?" Reese shrugged. "I slap butts."

"That is regrettably true." a dark-skinned blonde girl sighed from off to the side, diligently folding her clothes as she removed them from the dryer.

"You know you love it when I do it to you." Reese beamed.

"I assure you, I don't." the other girl replied stone-faced.

"Always so stuck up Ars." Reese's eyes widened. "Hey, did I ever introduce you to my partner?"

"Nope." Jaune shook his head.

"Ah well, here she is, my partner and esteemed leader of Team ABRN, Arslan!" Reese ran over to her partner gesturing dramatically and presenting her as a game show host would present a prize. "But we just call her Ars."

" _You_ call me Ars!" sighed the blonde.

"Oh. Well, nice to meet you...Arslan." Jaune waved making sure to put extra emphasis on her proper name; the last thing he needed to do was risk making another enemy, especially so immediately after he and Emerald had made up. "What brings you here today?"

Arslan's just stared blankly at him before motioning to the room around her.

"Right, laundry…" Oh! Emerald's clothes should be finished drying by now.

Jaune walked over to an adjacent dryer, thankful that Haven's laundry room had plenty of facilities, he would have felt bad tying up the room all day. Opening up the dryer, he set about the meticulous task of retrieving his partner's clothes.

"Man, whipped already." Reese chuckled. "I didn't think she beat you up that badly."

"It wasn't _that_ bad." he sighed, it was starting to get old hearing how badly he was beaten. He got it, he sucked.

"Hey now, take it easy." she sauntered up to him punching him playfully in the side. "A lot of people would pay good money to have a girl like Emerald step on them, and you got it for free!"

"Uh-huh…" Jaune could only nod.

"Yeah it's weird right: why would anyone want Emerald to step on them when Cinder is right there?" she added matter of factly. "So, what's got you playing servant?"

It took a moment for Jaune to respond, a little taken aback at how blunt Reese was. "I lost a bet, so I'm doing her laundry for the week."

"Well, at least you get to play with a pretty girl's underwear."

He could only shrug in response. After years of being buried under the laundry of his sisters, girly clothes weren't a mystery to him. If he was being honest, Emerald's underwear was almost painfully plain.

"Man, these are boring." Reese voiced his thoughts aloud, holding up a pair of underwear she'd snatched when he wasn't looking.

"Give me that!" He snatched the garment from her hands and tossed it into the basket.

"Hey, was just having fun." she waved her hands in front of her dismissively. "If I wanted something interesting, I would grab some of the ones Ars has."

"Reese!" Arslan finally snapped. "Come back here and finish your laundry, before I throw all your clothes in the trash."

"Ugh, yes _mom!_ " Reese groaned. "Talk to you later." she waved as she moved over to her partner.

Jaune shook his head; these were his classmates, these were the people he would be spending the next four years with, the people who were the future defenders of remnant. Seeing that they were all just a bunch of goof-offs just like him? It gave him hope.

Maybe, just maybe, his dream could be a reality.

 _######_

Emerald's leg bounced up and down impatiently, her mind only just barely registering the instructor's lesson. Professor Lu stood in the central arena, going over the various intricacies of aura, a refresher on the basics But with the training she'd received from her mistress, Emerald certainly didn't need it.

Her partner on the other hand…

Red eyes narrowed as Emerald glared at Jaune, nose buried into what seemingly was the textbook that had been provided, but from her angle it was clearly a comic book.

"Seriously?" She whispered under her breath.

Jaune was perhaps the worst student she had seen so far, he hadn't even used his aura properly in their fight: if anyone needed to pay attention, it would be him. Because of her little _outburst_ the other day, she was already on Professor Lu's radar, and if he was caught slacking off that would place both of them firmly in the spotlight.

Attention was the last thing she needed.

Annoyed beyond belief, her hand swiftly met the back of his head. "Pay attention!" She hissed.

"Ow." He flinched, rubbing the spot on his head. "That hurt!"

"It was supposed to." She said through grit teeth.

"Does the universe have it out for my head?" He griped.

"If it hurts so much, just use your aura."

"My what?"

"This is why you need to pay attention!" Emerald spat out louder than she meant to.

"Mister Arc, Miss Sustrai!" Emerald sighed as she turned to see the professor looking up at them. "So nice of you two to volunteer for the class, you two will be perfect for this demonstration."

With an annoyed huff Emerald stood Jaune following behind her.

"Yes, Professor?" Emerald tried to ask innocently.

"Since the two of you seem so knowledgeable about the subject of aura and its uses in combat, how about you provide a practical demonstration for the class."

"Uh, I'm not sure that's a good idea." Jaune glanced around nervously. Emerald's eyes nearly rolled out of her head. What could he possibly be stalling for? He was a trash fighter, but that should make him the most eager to want to get a practical lesson.

"Nonsense." Professor Lu smiled, Emerald knew that kind of smile well. A false one that was friendly but with a heavy undertone of harsh punishment if you didn't do what she said.

"Now, please enter the ring." the instructor added curtly.

The red-eyed girl didn't need to be told twice, she was already in enough hot water with the professor, stalling would just get her deeper in trouble. She couldn't afford to be a _problem_ student.

"Come on!" she ordered, grabbing Jaune by the arm and dragging him into the arena.

"I was kinda hoping to have a little more practice before being dragged back in front of the class."

"Shut up and don't get in my way." Emerald sighed. "Look, just... try and look like you can do something at least."

"Now if you two are ready, you shall now face your opponent." Lu was surrounded by a soft green glow and pointed up. High up in the rafters movement caught Emerald's eyes, something large began to lower itself from the shadows.

"No way!" red eyes widened in disbelief. A massive chitinous form descended, dangling from a thick white silken strand As it made contact with the ground its eight legs clacked and skittered on the stone surface. Turning to face the duo, six beady eyes bore into Emerald's own.

"What the hell is that!?" Jaune asked, voice trembling slightly.

"So glad you asked Mr. Arc." the professor smiled confidently. "This, class, is a Widowmaker. Luckily this one isn't fully grown, nor in a colony like they're usually found. They also prefer to ambush their prey rather than fight head-on. However, that doesn't mean they aren't a tough opponent. But, with all of their usual advantages stripped from them, I doubt that this shall be a difficult opponent for you. You fight to ten percent aura or until the Widowmaker is incapacitated." Lu pointed at the pair. "Begin!"

In an instant the spider Grimm rushed forward, eight legs propelling it forward with blinding speed. Emerald jumped gracefully to the side. Jaune, however, felt the superior option was to hold up his shield and hope for the best.

"Ahh!" he yelped as the spider caught him in the chest knocking him to the ground, its limbs battering off his shield.

"Get up you idiot!"

"I'm trying to!"

With a frustrated growl, Emerald ran to her partner's aid. The blades of her scythes lashing out and chains wrapping around one of the Grimm's legs, she braced herself and wretched one of disgusting limbs to the side.

"Now!"

With that brief moment's reprieve, Jaune managed to find his footing again. Back on his feet, maybe they could actually form some kind of plan and-

"Ahhh!" Jaune ran at the beast sword arm flailing.

"Or you could continue to be an idiot." she muttered under her breath.

She was surprised by the fact the some of his spastic strikes managed to hit the Grimm, but it was unfazed by the sloppy cuts. Emerald noticed that, in his single-minded focus, Jaune was unaware of another chitinous limb coming to blindside him. Bounding forward, her blades managed to cut off the offending limb before it struck.

"Pay attention!" She knew for a fact that she would be better than most of the students here, but this was the kind of riff-raff Haven let through their doors? It was a wonder humanity had lasted this long.

"Thanks for the save." He panted out, reeling back.

"I shouldn't have to." she griped, taking a step back, a crack beneath her foot caught her attention.

Glancing down, she noticed she'd stepped on the Widowmaker's severed leg, splitting it in half. Odd; Grimm parts dissolve quickly once separated from the main body, yet this limb persisted. That's when she saw it.

Beneath the normal black and white of a Grimms usual skin, was a beige nothingness.

"There's no way…" She looked up at Professor Lu and remembered her office visit from the other day.

The paper doll that had come to life and served her tea.

The myriad of clay sculptures.

This thing wasn't a real Grimm: it was a giant clay sculpture animated and controlled by the professor. Which meant…

"Jaune, when I say 'go' run at it and strike at its left flank."

"That seems like an awful plan."

"Look I know I'm asking a lot - for you at least - but...just trust me." Emerald pleaded, she couldn't blame him for his doubt. On paper the plan was pointless, and absolutely no one should ever trust her.

But, putting on the best puppy dog eyes she could, making her voice sound a little desperate. "Please."

Gods she wanted to gag, she hated acting like this.

"Alright." he nodded, turning to face the Grimm, which Emerald noted was being surprisingly patient, she guessed that Professor Lu was willing to let them have their moment to plan.

Emerald's grip tightened on her scythes, her legs tensed, she trained one eye on the clay construct, and the other on the instructor. If this were a normal Grimm, this plan would never work.

"Go!"

Jaune sprinted forward, readying a strike at its left side as the Grimm launched into a devastating counter-attack.

Well it probably would have been devastating if it didn't strike the empty air just short of where Jaune should have been, allowing his sword to cut deep into its side.

Emerald could see the look of confusion on Professor Lu's face. She loved that look: that flash when shock, confusion and realization hit all at once.

Emerald lived for that single moment.

The tension in her legs let loose, and like a coiled viper, she sprang forward. Her twin scythes bit like fangs into the construct on either side of its head. Using the weapons as leverage, she lashed out with a kick to the spider's face, its head cracking into clay dust.

The Widowmaker's legs buckled as it fell in a heap.

"Victory for Team JCME!" Professor Lu clapped lightly. "A sloppy victory, but a victory nonetheless. Thank you for the demonstration. Now, please return to your seats and we shall continue the lecture."

Emerald let out a sigh of relief, she had managed to get through this. Hopefully Jaune had learned his lesson, and he'd pay more attention. Maybe just maybe she could fade back into obscurity.

 _######_

Emerald flopped onto her bunk, glad to finally be done with class, and out of that suffocating uniform. Now, she had a moment where she didn't have to pretend to be a plucky young huntress looking out for the good of Remnant. Here in this sanctuary, she could be herself.

"Gods, he sucks so much!" Emerald let out a growl of frustration. How was she supposed to maintain any kind of cover when she had to babysit a guy who seemed to barely know the first thing about fighting?!

The door opened, catching her attention, she was surprised when Cinder walked in.

"Good evening Emerald." Cinder said cooly.

Emerald sat up in an instant, spine straight and posture perfect in order to make herself presentable. "Good evening Ma'am."

"You did wonderful out there today." her mistress smiled softly. "Exactly as I expected of my star pupil."

Emerald struggled to keep a smile from forming on her face, as she felt the warmth of pride that always coursed through her whenever Cinder praised her. "Thank you."

"You're partner on the other hand...is less than admirable."

She felt her heart twinge. "I know."

"You will fix this." Cinder added, her tone telling that this was an order and not a request. "The best and the worst always receive the most attention."

"Yes." the green-haired girl nodded dutifully.

"Another thing." red eyes looked up awaiting her next orders. "Tomorrow evening, I will be using our room to contact my benefactor and her associates. You must keep Jaune away from the room while I do so."

"How do I…?"

"That is not my job to figure out. You're a resourceful girl, Emerald, I trust you will think of something."

"I will." she nodded again.

"Good." Cinder turned on her heels grabbing a briefcase as she went. "I shall be out late as usual. I look forward to seeing results from you."

With that, Emerald was alone once again. But now her mind raced: she had a task that she must somehow complete.

To somehow turn Jaune Arc into a competent fighter.

A weary sigh escaped her lips. A small part of her wishing she was somehow back on the streets. At least she wouldn't have to deal with this.

 _#####_

Jaune sighed as he trudged out of the training hall, where he'd retreated after classes hopelessly hacking away at the practice dummy.

"As if flailing at a post will make me better." he griped.

He didn't know the first thing about swordsmanship, and he doubted what he was doing would make him better. Maybe if he had paid attention in class that might have helped, and honestly he had tried! But every word that came out of Professor Lu's mouth was complete gibberish.

Reaching his locker, Jaune stowed his weapons and armor inside and began to retrieve his backpack. A shot of pain ran through him though, and he spilled his books across the floor as he dropped the bag..

"Damn it." Earlier in class, when he had been forced to fight, he had been knocked down by that spider thing and it had bruised his chest pretty bad. Thankfully, the armor that he wore held up, or he might have broken ribs.

Jaune knew he should probably have gone to the infirmary, but he really didn't want to go there again. Everyone seemed to treat injury like it was a rarity, like it was some strange occurrence. Almost none of his classmates wore armor like he did, yet they seemed impervious to injury.

Probably had to do with aura, the mysterious term his professor kept rambling on about. Reaching down to pick up his books he caught sight of one in particular.

' _ **So Your Body Is A Glowing' A Beginner's Guide To Aura.**_

A stupid kids book he picked up at the library, hoping to use it as a cheat sheet during lessons.

But then Emerald had called him out on it, and the disaster that was class had happened.

"I should probably return this." he mused, stuffing all his books back where they belonged.

That sounded like a plan: go to the library, return this book, and take out another. "Maybe the have a 'Swords for Dummies' book I can take out?"

This was it, no more would he be the load. He'd study at the library and be the hero he was always meant to be!

"Jaune!" a shout snapped it out of his thoughts as he saw Reese barreling towards him on her board. "Jaune I need your help."

"What's going on?"

"Sun thinks he can drink more milk cartons with his nose than me, we need a judge."

"Sure!" Jaune answered without a moment's hesitation as he followed Reese to the cafeteria.

He could always study tomorrow, the books were going nowhere, and he could really use a break!

* * *

Hoo boy how long has it been...9 months well I'm sorry. Haven't felt much for this story lately, but I love the idea of it so much I soldiered on and gave you guys another chapter. This fic means a lot to me and I want to see this pairing make waves. Hopefully next time it won't take as long.

Now excuse me I have to go deal with two blondes stuck on an island with sexual tension so thick you could cut it with a knife.


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